LA Angels: Grading the 2021 bullpen

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Jul 17, 2021; Anaheim, California, USA; Alex Claudio, LA Angels / Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

The LA Angels' bullpen was very disappointing this year.

Here's a numbers breakdown of just how bad the Angels' relivers were in 2021:

ERA: 4.59 (Seventh-worst in MLB)

BB/9: 4.04 (Tenth-worst in MLB)

BAA: .245 (Seventh-worst in MLB)

WHIP: 1.40 (Sixth-worst in MLB)

Luckily, the Halos re-signed Raisel Iglesias. They also went out and plucked Aaron Loup from the New York Mets. It's worth taking a look and reflecting on the rest of the regular bullpen pitchers who were in the Halo bullpen this year, regardless of if they'll be back or not next year.

With the Halo bullpen this season, it was a true tale of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Grading the LA Angels 2021 bullpen: The Ugly

No. 9 2021 bullpen pitcher for the LA Angels: Sam Selman--F

Sam Selman was the only Big League pitcher that the LA Angels received at the time of the Tony Watson trade. Unfortunately for Selman, he ended up being the worst core bullpen pitcher for the team.

As of right now, it looks like we were fleeced in that trade, as Selman has posted a 6.35 ERA and 4.76 FIP since the trade while Watson has posted a 2.96 ERA and 2.64 FIP.

No. 8 2021 bullpen pitcher for the LA Angels: Junior Guerra--F

When thinking about LA Angels first-year reliever Junior Guerra, disappointment immediately comes to mind. After recording a 3.44 ERA and a 1.174 WHIP, while only surrendering 6.3 hits per nine innings in 2019 and 2020, it looked like the Halos were getting a good one in Guerra this year.

Instead, they got a 6.06 ERA pitcher who posted a 1.730 WHIP and gave up 9.2 hits per nine innings. Hopefully Guerra won't be back with the team next year.

No. 7 2021 bullpen pitcher for the LA Angels: Alex Claudio--F

Unfortunately, the LA Angels threw Alex Claudio the fourth-most times as anybody this season. Last year certainly was ugly for Claudio, as he somehow gave up 10.2 hits per nine frames and recorded a 5.51 ERA. His 5.10 FIP was just as disgraceful.

Sep 29, 2021; Arlington, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Jose Quijada (65) throws a / Andrew Dieb-USA TODAY Sports

Grading the LA Angels 2021 bullpen: The bad

No. 6 2021 bullpen pitcher for the LA Angels: Andrew Wantz--D

Andrew Wantz didn't have an ugly rookie year for the LA Angels, but it certainly was a below-average season from Wantz. Wantz posted a 4.94 ERA, a 91 ERA+, and a 4.30 FIP. That sounds ugly, but it's necessary to go a bit deeper than that with Wantz.

He also struck out 12.5 batters per nine innings, which is far from ugly. His 1.244 WHIP wasn't particularly 'good,' but it also certainly wasn't ugly. Wantz was in that second tier of Angels core bullpen pitchers this season.

No. 5 2021 bullpen pitcher for the LA Angels: Jose Quijada--D

Jose Quijada was a similar type of pitcher for the LA Angels in which he gave up too many runs, but some of his other numbers did look good. He had a lackluster 4.56 ERA, as well as a disappointing 5.3 BB/9 rate. That being said, he struck out 13.3 batters per nine frames, and recorded a 3.09 FIP.

We can work with what Quijada gave us this season. I'm not making any excuses for his sub-par season, but the 26-year-old could've been worse and has potential. He showed improvement this season.

Jul 28, 2021; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Raisel Iglesias (32) / Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Grading the LA Angels 2021 bullpen: The good

No. 4 2021 bullpen pitcher for the LA Angels: Steve Cishek--B-

Steve Cishek wasn't without his faults for the LA Angels this season, but he overall did a good job. He walked too many guys (5.4 per nine) and gave up too many hits (8 per nine), but he didn't give up too many runs.

He posted a 3.42 ERA and only allowed 0.3 home runs per nine innings. He's worth signing for a cheap deal this offseason.

No. 3 2021 bullpen pitcher for the LA Angels: Mike Mayers--B

Mike Mayers quietly had a good year for our LA Angels. One of the best relievers we had, he recorded a 3.53 ERA and a 3.29 SIERA.

The former third round pick has been very good since coming over to the Angels for the 2020 season, recording a 135 ERA+ since then.

No. 2 2021 bullpen pitcher for the LA Angels: Austin Warren--B+

Austin Warren didn't pitch a ton for the LA Angels this season (appeared in just 16 games), but he was so good when he was out there that I'd absolutely have him as the second-best Angels reliever. He recorded an awesome 1.77 ERA to go along with a great 2.09 FIP.

Holding guys to just a .205 batting average and recording a 1.033 WHIP, Warren has a bright future.

No. 1 2021 bullpen pitcher for the LA Angels: Raisel Iglesias--A+

There's really nothing negative anyone can say about Raisel Iglesias and his performance for the 2021 LA Angels. He established himself as one of the best closers in baseball, finishing 2021 with 34 saves and a 2.57 ERA. That's even better than his dominant 2020, which swayed the Halos to go out and sign Iglesias.

Iglesias struck out a career-high 13.2 batters per nine innings and only walked 1.5 hitters per nine frames. He's worth the bag we just handed him. While the Angel bullpen is nothing special, Iglesias was sensational.

Next. The LA Angels 2021 Christmas List. dark

Now that we added Loup, this back-end is going to be ferocious. The Halo bullpen was disappointing this year, but should be better next year once Chris Rodriguez comes back from injury.

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